"Of course, at the moment, I cannot state for certain that the cyber attacks were managed by the Kremlin, or other Russian government agencies," said Estonia's Defense Minister, Jaak Aaviksoo, on Estonian's Kanal 2 TV channel.
Aaviksoo compared the cyber attacks with the blockade of Estonia's Embassy in Moscow, organized by the pro-Putin Russian youth movement NASHI (OURS) in response to Estonia's decision to move a Soviet WWII monument in the country's capital, Tallinn.
"Again, it is not possible to say without doubt that orders (for the blockade) came from the Kremlin, or that, indeed, a wish was expressed for such a thing there," said Aaviksoo.
The Estonian Defense Ministry had previously stated that the IP addresses of some of the computers involved in the cyber attacks could be traced to the Russian government.
However, hackers can easily manipulate IP addresses, and any attacks from Russia may well have been the actions of lone vigilantes.
Furthermore, thousands of computers from all over the world were used in the cyber assault. Russia called accusations of its involvement "unfounded," and neither NATO nor European Commission experts were able to find any proof of official Russian government participation.